Seattle, WA: Rally outside the hearing at noon in front of the Federal Court House (700 Stewart St). In the event that a contempt hearing is held that day, please be prepared to come inside the courthouse for to support the resisters. You’ll need photo ID and court-appropriate clothes. Don’t bring anything you wouldn’t be able to get past metal detectors and security guards.

We believe that the Assistant US Attorney overseeing this grand jury has already granted immunity for at least one, if not both of the subpeanuts for September 13th. That means it’s likely they’ll be taken straight from the grand jury room to a contempt hearing, then whisked off to jail for up to the duration of the investigation. If you’re coming to Seattle already that day for the solidarity demo, please be prepared to go inside to pack the courtroom for any contempt hearings that may happen. You’ll need photo ID and court-appropriate clothes. Let’s show Leah and the rest of the subpeanuts that we’re with them, every step of the way!!

Vigil from Noon on the September 13th till noon on September 14th.

Portland, OR: Rally in front of the Federal Court House (1000 SW 3rd Ave, at Salmon) at 12:30pm until 3:30. We will be giving live updates from Seattle.

Ramarley Graham Vigil To Be Held At Bronx Criminal Courthouse Occupy Guitarmy To Occupy Courthouse On Eve Of NYPD Trial

This Thursday, September 13, Occupy Guitarmy will join the family of Ramarley Graham at the start of the trial of the NYPD officer charged with the killing of their son. The courthouse will be the site of a large group of social justice activists including Stop Stop & Frisk, Take Back The Bronx and hip hop group Rebel Diaz.

On February 2, Ramarley Graham, an 18-year-old Bronx resident, was followed home from a local convenience store, shot and killed by officer Richard Haste inside his own home. The community was outraged at this brutal and unnecessary act, and Ramarlay’s story has now been linked to the large number of victims of police brutality in the city. Many prominent communities, from city councilmen (Jumaane Williams) to religious leaders (Rev. Al Sharpton) have spoken on behalf of Graham and against the policies of the NYPD.

Bronx Courthouse Occupied

On the eve of the trial the Occupy Guitarmy will lead a group of activists from Union Square on an eight mile march to the Bronx Criminal Courthouse (215 E 161st St.) where they will perform a “sleepful protest” outside the court’s doors.

The Occupy group wishes to highlight the confluence of policing problems evident in the tragedy of Ramarley Graham: an out of control surveillance state, lack of proper police training, racial profiling, unlawful entry, and unwarranted use of lethal force. These are endemic problems within the NYPD’s failed drug enforcement and Stop & Frisk policies.

The Occupy Guitarmy is a musical street action project of the OWS Music Working Group. The leaderless, multi-instrumental group plays and sings in support of workers and for actions supporting economic, environmental, or social justice. The group’s two most recent actions were a trans-Manhattan march in support of the Russian musicians and political prisoners Pussy Riot, and a 99 mile march from Philadelphia to NYC to celebrate the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie.

It placed greed front and center in the public debate. In solidarity with #OWS and Occupy’s 1 year anniversary, let’s bring it back to it’s roots.

Join us. Sept. 17th at 6PM in Westlake Park.

“Right now, with every dollar we spend, we give corporations more and more influence over our politics. Over our healthcare, our government, our society, and our future. With every dollar we give them more and more influence over our daily lives.

We think this is wrong. Money isn’t speech. And it definitely shouldn’t be a corporate megaphone with which to corrupt our system of government, bribe our politicians, and buy special treatment.

Our actions as consumers continue to fuel this problem. Without change, we will continue to live in a system that forces us to sell our voices, and in effect to buy our own silence. We must take responsibility for the part we continue to play. We must change as much as we expect change.

We’ve been taught to sell out our own voices. We’ve been taught to be consumers rather than fully alive human beings. We’ve been taught to be silenced. And that that silence is the hidden price we must all pay for being consumers.

Buying their goods shouldn’t mean selling our voices. Buying their goods shouldn’t mean selling ourselves. We feel it’s time people started drawing attention to the silencing power of money as speech. As consumers, as voters, as citizens, as a society, as people, and as human beings, we can all agree, money shouldn’t talk.

Together let us reclaim our voices with silence.”

This is a silent flash march into the shopping areas of the downtown core. Once there, we will be silently walking / flooding into several actual shopping centers & stores. We’ll also be meeting up at certain times to regroup and hold brief 1/2 hour silent vigils.

Small printed versions of the above statement for you to hand out will also be available if someone wishes to engage you in positive dialog about this action or wants a more information about the action and you do not wish to break your silence.

• 6:00pm – Meet at Westlake park.
Please bring a dollar bill with you. We’ll have some tape & spirit gum on hand. If you can bring some extra to share, even better.

• 6:30pm – Silent flash march begins.
Details of the exact schedule and timings for the march to follow. We will also have small cheat-sheets available with a map and the times for the silent vigils.

In keeping with the message of the dollars tapped over our mouths, a silent flash march means remaining as quiet as possible. Please no chanting, singing, talking, drums, etc. We make our point by making eye contact with as many of the people we pass as possible and holding it just a little too long. For that reason also, please do not bring signs to hold or flags to wave. If you’re planning on entering shops, you might want to leave the Occupy labeled gear at home. It may tip off some businesses that have “banned” occupy gear and prevent you from moving freely.

Not only will our silence be a powerful statement, it will hopefully also be the key to our ability to enter those spaces that we might otherwise have to avoid.

See you there!!!
Please invite your friends even if you can’t make it!

New York, NY – On Thursday, September 13, in every borough of New York City, people who have had enough of the illegal NYPD policy of stop-and-frisk will gather at various locations to “Blow the Whistle” in areas heavily targeted by the NYPD. The Stop Mass Incarceration Network says 14,500 whistles have been distributed to communities, with another 6,000 to be given out Thursday.

According to NYPD figures, every day almost 2,000 mostly black and Latino males are stopped by the NYPD, subjected to stop-and-frisk, which the Network calls “unconstitutional, unjust, and racist.”. Organizers say, “In the face of the massive public outcry against stop-and-frisk, the NYPD is doubling down. They are on pace to stop and frisk almost as many people in 2012 as their record in 2011 of 684,000. Now is the time to organize widespread political resistance that can end to stop-and-frisk.”